Can body-forming wings



Aug. 6;, 1929. P. kRusE cm nomr FORMING vmws Filed Aug. 3, i192! III/A!INVENTOR By Attorneys, @"mmm L Patented Aug. 6, 1929.

PETER KRUSE, OF BROOKLYN,

NEW YORK, IN.

NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR T0. 33. W. BLISS COMPANY, O]?

Y., A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

CAN BODY-FORMING WINGS.

Application fled August 3, 1927. Serial No. 210,373.

This invention relates to improvements in can body-forming wings whichare used in can making machinery to wrap a body blank around a forminghorn.

a The object of this invention is to provide improvements inbody-forming wings with a view to speeding uptheir actionfso that thebody-making machines can be run at higher speeds without overstressingthe in wings and parts associated therewith.

A further object of the invention is to.

- provide body-forming wings which effect the forming of a can body witha considerably smaller movement of the wing-actuatie ing members than indevices hitherto known. 1

v The inventio further aims to provide substantially constructedoscillating wings having comparatively light weight portions ac movablewith respect to the main wing por tions and mechanicall controlled insuch manner that the said ight weight portions peritorm a part of thefunction of wrapping the can body blank around the horn, thereby cuttingdown the required movement of the heavier main wing ortion.

Further objects the invention will be apparent from the followingdetailed description in which reference is had to the an accompanyingdrawings, wherein Fi ure l'is a side elevation of the body- A formingwing according to the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a view of the device shown in as Fig 1 taken from below.

ig; 3 is an end view of the mechanism shown in Fig. 1, certain portionshaving been broken away to show internal details.

' The wings are shown in full lines in their 40 closed position and oneof the wings in dotted lines in its open position.

Fig. 4 is a longitudinalcross-section taken along the line IV-IV of Fig.3.

In the designof modern can making machinery the effort is constantlymade to increase the safe working speed so that maximum production maybe had from each unit. Many can body have already gone into use in areturned out at the rate of considerably more than 300 per minute. At sucheds various elements of the machines whic are machines requiredtoexecute reciprocating or 050111??- lhese wings must which can bodiestorymovements Vere stresses due are subjected to rather seto the very rapidaccelerations necessaril involved. This is particularly true of t e canbody-forming wings, the function of which is to bend the fiat body blankaround the forming horn. be lifted or swung away from the horn asufficient distance to permit the flat blank to be fed onto the horn andtangent thereto. The wings are then swung toward the horn, carrying thefree edges of the blank completely around the horn and slightly beyondso that the marginal hooks which have been previously formed in the bodyblanks may be interlocked to 'form the cylindrical can body. Accordingto usual practice, wings made in a single piece are utilized and themove ment of such wings in their entirety must be sufficient to swingclear of the sheet or body blank as it is fed into position overthehorn, and upon the reversemovement to wrap the blank around the born, asabove set forth. Because of the severe duty to which the wings aresubjected in executing this oscillating movement more than 300 timeseach minute, they rugged construction and have considerable mass. Theoscillation over large arcs, par ticularl such as are required in wingswhich orm the larger sized can bodies, consumes a very considerableamount of energy, and the bearings which support the wings and theiractuating members are subjected to excessive wear in many instances. I,

The improvement according to the pres ent invention permits of amaterial reduction in the stroke of the main portion of the wing andconsequently of the mechanical linkage through which the wings properare actuated, thereby reducing the duty imposed upon the bearings at anygiven speed or permitting the machine to be run at higher speeds with nogreater wear than-characterizes the old machines running at their .usualspeeds. This is accomplished by providing an articulated or two'partwing, the two parts being simultaneously actuated in such manner thattheir combined movement is utilized toform the'can body around the horn.By this construction the required travel of the main part of the wing ismaterially less than in hitherto known devices,

are necessarily of a,

. the smaller and 1 is shown -3 of the wingscon-form is shown in dottedlines the main wing portion performing only part of the body-formingfunction, while lighter part of the wing which moves independently,completes the body-forming operation.

, Referring to the drawings, in which there one embodiment accordin tothe present invention, the letters A, refer generally to the main partsof the bodyforming wings respectively. These wings are mounted upon ashaft 1, which lies above and parallel to the body-forming horn 2, andare so designed that when they are swung into the closed position asshown in solid lines in Fig. 3, the inner or working faces to thecurvature of the horn. The open posit-ion of the wings in the samefigure, the wings being swung upwardly away from the horn a sufficientdistance to permit the blank B shown in dotted lines to advance in ahorizontal plane tangent to the bodyforming horn.

In the operation of the machine. the blank B is fed by any suitablemeans between the horn 2'and the clamping bar 5 which is mounted at-thelower end of the stationary wing bracket or wing support 6, thisoccurring while the wingsA, A' oecupy the upper position. The blank isthen securely clamped between the horn and the bar 5 in any well knownmanner. The wings then descend carrying the blank around the two sidesof the horn and interlocking the marginal hooks a. The wings are thenwithdrawn from the horn and the can body completed in the usual mannerby bumping are mounted to swing on bearings 11.

reference character D. I prises a rod 20, the upper end ofw ieh is orswedging down the securely interlockedseafn, the can body being ejectedfrom the horn durin theupward movement of the wings so tiat anotherblank can be positioned over the horn just as soon as the lowermost tipsof the wings have risen above the plane of the oncoming blank.

T e wings are actuated by arms which The arms 10 are simultaneouslyactuated by the reciprocating driving rods 12 pivotally connected to thearms at points 13 which lie etween the inner ends of the arms 10 and thecenters 11 about which said arms are adapted to swing. Thedriving rods12 may be actuated in any suitable being a variety of drivesavailablefor this purplosa as'is well understood in the art.

e inner ends of respectively to the wings A, A through a resilientcoupling general] indicated by the coupli compivoted to the arm 10Surrounding the ower end of rod is a member 21 which is bored, toreeeive the rod and ide it Whlle perxmttm g" free longitudina movementthereof. he lower end of member manner, there arms 10 are, connected 22is provided with an eye 23 through which passes the bearing pin 24connecting the member 22 with the oscillating wing. Interposed betweenthe member 22 and a shoulder 25 on the rod, 20 is a spring 26 throughwhich the force of the downward movement of arm 10 is transmitted to thewing. This is desirable because with such a resilient connection it isnot necessary to adjust the movement of the working parts to the veryhigh degree of accuracy that would otherwise be required. If the drivingconnections were all rigid and the wing, after engaging the horn wereurged forward by a further movement of the actuating members, stresseswould be set up which might result in damage to the mechanism. Theinterfitting members 20, 22 of the resilient coupling D are preventedfrom being separated, by a transverse pin 30 which passes through themember 20 and projects on either side through slots 31 formed in thewalls of member 22. By this arrangement the coupling provides a positiveconnection upon the upward movement of arm 10, the pin 30 engaging theupper ends of slots 31. On the other hand, when the working surface 3 ofthe wing has been brought into contact with the horn, should therebe afurther movement of arm 10, the pin 30 will slide freely in slots 31,and the only effect of a such further movement will be to increase thetension of spring 26 with a consequent slight "increase of the pressureof the wing against the can body surrounding the horn. Up to this pointin the description of the body-forming wings illustrated in the figures,the mechanism set forth departs in no material respect from usualpractice. The improvement according to the present invention residesprimarily in combining with the mechanism herein efore described amember carried by each oscillating wing and which is provided withactuating means, causing it to move relatively to such main portion-ofthe wing to perform a part of the body-forming function hithertoperformed by a unitary wing. This added wing memher. which is carried bythe main partof the wing may be described as an auxiliary wing element,and in the embodiment illustrated comprises the longitudinal blade 35which is mounted upon a transverse slide 36.

When the slide 36 is in the fully extended position indicated in fulllines in Fig. 3, the edge; of the blade engages the blank, which hasbeen wrapped around the horn 2, at a point lying substantially on theare of the circle represented by a continuation of the curved workingsurfaces 3 of the main wing member. That is to say, in the fullyextended position the effect of blade l lll Elli all.

- which the wing member oscillates to carry lid ' the wing A swings.

till

construction characterizes rocker arm carries "the slide back andcontact of blade with the blank, which the usual bodyforming wing.

The slide 36 is carried in a guideway formed in the lower face of themain wing member A, with respect to whichit is transyersely slidable, i.e., to the right or left in Fig. 3. This guideway in theconstructionillustrated is provided by recessing the lower face of member A so thatthe edges of the slide 36 lie flush with the surface 0 such member, andguide plate-s 37 are fas toned by means of screws 38 against the lowerwing surface to retain the slide in the guideway.

The slide 36 is actuated by a rocker arm 40 which is centrally pivotedto the main wing member A. The lower end of this a roller 41 which lieswithin a slot 42 in slide 36, the roller acting against the vertical.sides of the slot to move forth in its guideway. The movement of rockerarm 40 which actuates slide 36 is controlled by a cam rollor 45 mountedat rocker arm the roller engaging a cam block 46 which is rigidlymounted on the side of wing bracket 6. The curved surface 47 of the camblock is so designed that when the main wing inember A has been swunginto the closed'position against the horn 2, the corresponding movementof the cam roller 45 over cam surface 47 will have caused the fulladvance of slide 36 necessary to complete the forming of the can body;and when the wing member A has been swung to its open position indicatedin dotted lines in Fig. 3, the cam roller will have permitted the upperend of the rocker arm 40 to swing a sufficient distance towardsthe axis1 about the slide 36, and consequently the forming blade 35 to theretracted or upper position, also shown in dotted lines. The surfaceofthe cam lying between the two extreme points above set forth is soformedas to provide a smooth movement of the rocker ar n over its requiredrange of displacement. It will be observed that the cam surface 471 fromthe lower point of contact of the cam roller to the upper point ofcontact, gradu' ally approaches the center 1 about which The cam roller45 is maintained in contact withcam surface 47 by a tension sprin 48which is connected between a post 49 extending downwardly from the lowerend of rocker arm 40, and a post 50 projecting downwardly from the lowerface of the main wing member This spring acts continuously to draw theslide 36 into the guideway in wing member A so that the slide isretracted by the action of the spring as far as is permitted by therelationship at any moment between cam roller 45 and the cam surface 47.It

f The dotted line :2: indicates the upper end of the.

" improved wing movement of which-is A. and actuatin means will be clearthat the sprin is relied upon only to withdraw the slide a ter theforming of the can body. The slide in being extended to bend the canbody blank around the'horn is positively actuated by the cam block 46.

The mechanical advantage gained by providing an auxiliary wing memberwhich moves relatively to the main wingmember is diagrammaticallyindicated in Fig. 3. the height to which the ordinary body-forming wingwould have to be raised in order to permit the blankB to enter above thehorn, and the dotted line 3 indicates the corresponding position of thecenter line of arm 10. It.

will be noted that as compared with the movement of these elements ashertofore employed in performing function, the present movementrepresents a very considerable reduction in the travel of thecorresponding wing members. At any given machine speed it will beobvious that such reduction in movement will result in a materialdecrease in the forces required to actuate the. various elements, andconsequently the life of the bearin will be correspondingly prolonged.Ti e advantage gained in this manner may be in part passed along toother parts of the can body-making machine which co-operate with t ebodyforming wings. Because of the fact, that the according to the resentine moved out of t e way of vention may blankin a shorter period 0 theoncoming time than heretofore, which delivers the blanks successively tothe horn need not be reciprocated at so high a speed as heretofore,there being permitted, if desired, a greater time interval for thefeeding cycle while preserving a favorable speed increase in theoperation of the wings themselves.

precisely the same fthe feed mechanism While only a single embodiment'ofthe body-forming mechanism according to the present invention hasfbeendescribed and illustrated, it will be understood that the invention isnot otherwise variously modified limited thereto but may be and embodiedwithout departing from the s set forth in the following clalms.

\ What Lclaim is: w a

1. In a can body-making machine or" the like, a pair of co-operatingmembers the adapted to bend a blank part way around a horn, auxiliaryblank bending members relativeln movable with respect to said firstmentione members, for said auxiliary memthereto bers adapte to impartmovement supplementing the movement of said first pirit thereof, as

mentioned members to complete the bending of the blank into acylindrical can body while such blank is in the. same positionlongitudinally of the horn, whereby the reof said wing mem quiredmovement of said first-mentioned pair of members in making a can body ofgiven size, is reduced. I

2. In a can body-making machine or the like, a horn around which blanksare bent to form can bodies, a pair of oscillating wings the movement ofwhich is adapted to bend a blank part way around the horn, and auxiliarywing members carried by and movable relatively to said wings, adapted togomplete the bending of the blank around the 3. In a can body-makingmachine or the like, a horn around which blanks are bent to form canbodies, a pair of co-operating wings the movement of which is adapted topartially bend a blank around the horn, and mechanical means relativelymovable with respect to said wings and actuated by the movement thereofto complete the bending of the can body around the horn whereb therequired stroke of the said wings will be reduced.

4. In a can body-making machine or the like, a horn around which blanksare bent to form can bodies, a swinging wing member movable toward andaway from said horn, an auxiliary win element carried by said wingmember an movable relatively thereto, and actuating means for impartingan additional movement to said auxiliary element toward the horn whenthe said wing member is swung toward the horn 5. A can body-makingmachine according to claim 4, further characterized in that the saidactuating means comprises a camcontrolled device 0 erated by themovement 6. A- can body-making machine according to claim 4, furthercharacterized in that the said actuating means comprises acam-controlled device operated b the movement of said wing member anoperatively connected between a stationary part of the machine and saidauxiliary wing element.

A can body-making machine according to claim 4, further characterized inthat the said actuating means comprises a rocker arm pivoted at a pointbetween its ends to said swinging wing member, one end of said rockerarm operatively engaging a stationary cam surface and the other end ofsaid rocker arm operatively engaging the said auxiliary wing elementcarried by the said swinging wing member.

8. In a can body-making machine or the like, a horn around which blanksare bent other end of said rocker 'bent to form can bodies,

to form can bodies, an oscillating wing member movable toward and awayfrom said horn, an auxiliary -wing element slidably mounted on said wingmember, and actuating means for said auxiliary wing element operativelyconnected between said element and a stationary part of the machine.

9. In a can body-making machine or the like, a horn around which blanksare bent to form can bodies, a pivotally mounted main wing memberadapted to swing toward and away from said horn, an auxiliar wingelement movable with respect to said main wing member, a rocker armpivoted upon said wing member, and a cam device interposed between oneend of said rocker arm and a stationary part of the machine, the

arm being operatively connected to said auxiliary wing element.

10. In a can body-making machine or the like, a horn around which blanksare bent to form can bodies, a pivotally mounted main wing memberadapted to swing toward and away from said horn, an auxiliary wingelement slidabl carried by said main win r member, a roclier arm pivotedupon said Wing member and having one end 0 eratively connected to saidslidable auxiliary wing element, and a stationary cam adapted to engagethe other end of said rocker arm whereby to impart to said auxiliarywing element a relative movement with respect to said main wing member.

11. In a can body-makin the like,

machine or a horn around which blanks are a pair .of pivotally mountedmain wing members, one on either side of the horn, and each adapted toswing toward and away from the said horn, the said members approachingon op ite sides of the 'horn to bend a can body lank over said horn,said members SWlIl ing away from the horn to permit the fee ing ofanother blank into position for bending over the horn, each of said wingmembers carrying a slidably mounted auxiliary win element, and a rockerarm to actuate sai ele ment, cams mounted on a stationary part of themachine and engaging the said rocker arms to control the movement of thesaid auxiliary wing elements, and actuating meansfor said main wingmembers.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto signed my name.

PETER KRUSE.

